Art Truck Delivering Outreach Therapy to Chulalongkorn Students and Staff

Delivery trucks, food trucks … and now, art therapy trucks?

In 2022, a study jointly conducted by Chulalongkorn University and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation of 9,000 students from 15 universities nationwide indicated that 40% of university students suffered from stress, while 30% are often or always depressed and around 4% thought of committing suicide.

In 2023, The Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts (FAA) at Chulalongkorn University launched the CU Mobile Arts 4U project. Lecturer in Expressive Arts Dr. Nisara Jaroenkajornkij or as she is better known, ‘Dr Alex’, explained the background, “Statistics showed that there is a rising trend in rates of depression and suicide at the university. The then-Dean, Professor Bussakorn Binson wanted to help alleviate these mental issues and improve the quality of life for students and staff.”

Professor Rachel Lev-Wiesel of the Emili Sagol Research Center at the University of Haifa, a driving force behind the introduction of creative art therapy at the faculty, which now has its own Emili Sagol Research and Wellness Center, was consulted on how to reach out to those suffering from depression. Previously, she had jointly led a team of art therapists with Professor Binson to Korat to provide art therapy to survivors of the Terminal 21 shooting incident on 8 February 2020. “Professor Bussakorn said that we already have a wellness center and art therapy at the faculty, so we should go out and meet students”, noted Dr Alex.

A small truck was ordered and then brightly decorated in Chula’s colors – lots of pinks and pastels. The truck opens out, with plenty of space for the therapists to display the artworks of those staff and students who participate in the therapeutic sessions.

Dr Alex, who has a master’s in clinical psychology from Kingston University in the UK and teaches on the FAA’s newly launched international master’s program in Expressive Arts, said that expressive art therapy includes a wide range of activities, from music, dance, and movement to painting, sculpting and psychodrama, “expressive art therapy includes every form of art.”

The CU Mobile Art Truck parks up at various places around the university, most recently, at the CU Central Library. Staff and students joining in are given a questionnaire with 9 questions and are asked to draw a self-portrait. Dr Alex is able to interpret each self-portrait. “It’s a kind of assessment as I can analyze the drawing”, she said. “Some students show severe symptoms [of depression] and for them I can refer them to their faculties for further mental health support.”

The activities at the CU Central Library session, which was conducted by Professor Binson and Dr Alex, included ‘self-figure drawings’, watercolor, oil and pastel drawing and painting. The program also uses ‘ambient music’ to create a calm, supportive environment.

The session was held in a very relaxing atmosphere that made the activities enjoyable and low key. The standard of some of the artwork was very good, too. Some students just really enjoyed the process of making artworks, which took their minds off some of the more stressful aspects of their lives.

For Dr Alex, the reward for this kind of interdisciplinary, expressive art-based therapy comes when participants make tangible progress. “When you’re working with people who are depressed and you see the improvement in their face, that’s the ‘fall-in-love’ moment”, she said. “You can see their face ‘glow’ – they are no longer under a cloud.”

The CU Mobile Arts 4 U Truck has recently completed its pilot year, and has secured funding for 2024, so the art truck will be appearing around the campus over the next year.

French Embassy opens opportunities for collaboration with UNAIR

Universitas Airlangga is collaborating with the French Embassy in Indonesia. On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, a meeting was convened at the Plenary Hall, Balairua, MERR-C Campus, to discuss plans for educational cooperation with French universities and industries.

Antoine Bricout, Attaché for University and Education of the French Embassy in Indonesia, and Sandra Vivier, Director of the Institut Français D’indonésie (IFI) Surabaya, were among the guests. Prof. Muhammad Miftahussurur, Vice Rector for Internationalization, Digitalization, and Information, and Prof. Dr. Bambang Sektiari Lukiswanto, Vice Rector for Academic, Student Affairs, and Alumni, both represented UNAIR at the forum.

Prof Bambang explained that UNAIR has currently partnered with 13 universities in France. UNAIR engages in various agreements, such as Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), and Letter of Agreement (LA). Each agreement discusses various aspects, ranging from scholarship opportunities to study and campus fair expos.

Prof Miftah explained the comprehensive collaboration planning involving faculties and institutions, including the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Pharmacy, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technology and Multidiscipline, Faculty of Psychology, Faculty of Vocational Studies, Universitas Airlangga Hospital, and the Airlangga Global Engagement. The focus covers research collaboration, joint publication, staff and student mobility programs, guest lectures, IISMA preparation programs, and LPDP scholarships.

“We would like to solidify our collaborative plans with Sciences Po, Kedge Business School, Université de Caen, and Universite Paris Cité. We hope these plans will include the establishment of a joint Indonesia-France working group for 2024,” he said.

Bricout welcomed this collaborative endeavor as a strategic chance to deepen Indonesia’s long-standing connection with France. He also mentioned internship opportunities at hospitals, particularly at the Faculty of Medicine, which provide competitive salaries and promising career prospects.

He also encouraged other UNAIR faculties to connect with French universities. These prospects require not only competence in their disciplines but also mastery of the French language. “Language is extremely important,” he emphasized.

Uncovering Anxiety: Scientists Identify Causative Pathway and Potential Cures

Quick-acting targeted therapies with minimal side effects are an urgent need for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders. While delta opioid receptor (DOP) agonists have shown ‘anxiolytic’ or anxiety-reducing effects, their mechanism of action is not well-understood. A new study by researchers from Tokyo University of Science highlights the role of specific neuronal circuits in the brain involved in the development of anxiety, and distinct mechanisms of action of the therapeutic DOP agonist – KNT-127.

Anxiety-related disorders can have a profound impact on the mental health and quality of life of affected individuals. Understanding the neural circuits and molecular mechanisms that trigger anxiety can aid in the development of effective targeted pharmacological treatments. Delta opioid receptors (DOP), which localize in the regions of the brain associated with emotional regulation, play a key role in the development of anxiety. Several studies have demonstrated the therapeutic effects of DOP agonists (synthetic compounds which selectively bind to DOPs and mimic the effect of the natural binding compound) in a wide range of behavioral disorders. One such selective DOP agonist—KNT-127—has been shown to exert ‘anxiolytic’ or anxiety-reducing effects in animal models, with minimal side effects. However, its mechanism of action is not clearly understood, thereby limiting its widespread clinical application.

To bridge this gap, Professor Akiyoshi Saitoh, along with Ms. Ayako Kawaminami and team from the Tokyo University of Science, Japan, conducted a series of experiments and behavioral studies in mice. Explaining the rationale behind their work, Prof. Saitoh says, “There are currently no therapeutic drugs mediated by delta opioid receptors (DOPs). DOPs likely exert anti-depressant and anti-anxiety effects through a mechanism of action different from that of existing psychotropic drugs. DOP agonists may, therefore, be useful for treatment-resistant and intractable mental illnesses which do not respond to existing treatments.” Their study was published on 29 December 2024, in Neuropsychopharmacology Reports,

The neuronal network projecting from the ‘prelimbic cortex’ (PL) of the brain to the ‘basolateral nucleus of the amygdala’ (BLA) region, has been implicated in the development of depression and anxiety-like symptoms. The research team has previously shown that KNT-127 inhibits the release of glutamate (a key neurotransmitter) in the PL region. Based on this, they hypothesized that DOP activation by KNT-127 suppresses glutamatergic transmission and attenuates PL-BLA-mediated anxiety-like behavior. To test this hypothesis, they developed an ‘optogenetic’ mouse model wherein they implanted a light-responsive chip in the PL-BLA region of mice and activated the neural circuit using light stimulation. Further, they went on to assess the role of PL-BLA activation on innate and conditioned anxiety-like behavior.

They used the elevated-plus maze (EPM) test, which consists of two open arms and two closed arms on opposite sides of a central open field, to assess behavioral anxiety in the mice. Notably, mice with PL-BLA activation spent lesser time in the central region and open arms of the maze, compared to controls, which was consistent with innate anxiety-like behavior. Next, the researchers assessed conditioned fear response of the animals by exposing them to foot shocks and placing them in the same shock chamber the following day without re-exposing them to current. They recorded the freezing response of the animals which reflects fear. Notably, animals with PL-BLA activation and controls exhibited similar behavior, suggesting that distinct neural pathways control innate anxiety-like behavior and conditioned fear response.

Finally, they examined the effects or KNT-127 treatment on anxiety-like behavior of mice using the EPM test. Remarkably, animals treated with KNT-127 exhibited an increase in the percentage time spent in the open arms and central field of the maze, compared to controls. These findings suggest that KNT-27 reduces anxiety-like behavior induced by the specific activation of the PL-BLA pathway.

Overall, the study reveals the role of the PL-BLA neuronal axis in the regulation of innate anxiety, and its potential function in DOP-mediated anxiolytic effects. Further studies are needed to understand the precise underlying molecular and neuronal mechanisms, for the development of novel therapies targeting DOP in the PL-BLA pathway.

Highlighting the long-term clinical applications of their work, Prof. Saitoh remarks, “The brain neural circuits focused on in this study are conserved in humans, and research on human brain imaging has revealed that the PL-BLA region is overactive in patients with depression and anxiety disorders. We are optimistic that suppressing overactivity in this brain region using DOP-targeted therapies can exert significant anxiolytic effects in humans.”

How universities are tapping the heat beneath our feet to go green

As our planet gets hotter and hotter, industries around the world are setting targets to achieve carbon neutrality, and higher education is no exception. For some universities, this means exploring ways to tap geothermal energy – heat from the ground – to tackle their heating and cooling needs, which traditionally account for a huge chunk of energy consumption in buildings.

Though this might sound high-tech, these initiatives are just the latest step in a centuries-old tradition. Humans have been making use of the energy under our feet for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence suggests that some indigenous groups in North America were using geothermal energy for cooking at least 10,000 years ago, while the Ancient Romans used geothermal energy to heat their baths and homes. Meanwhile, the earliest documented geothermal district heating system dates all the way back to 14th-century France.

Today, many campuses are leveraging geothermal energy for their heating and cooling needs, in ways that are much more efficient and often cheaper to run than the fossil-fuelled systems they replace.

To dig a little deeper into the issue, QS Insights Magazine spoke to researchers, advocacy groups and industry players, to get their takes on how institutions are making use of geothermal energy systems and what impact this might have on their carbon reduction efforts.

Geothermal, geoexchange: what’s the difference?

“Let’s just say that there are lots of words that sometimes get used to mean more or less the same thing in this space,” Fleur Loveridge, Professor of Geo-Energy Engineering at Leeds University in the UK, tells QS Insights Magazine.

Take “geothermal energy”. Basically, this is when you get any thermal energy, such as heat, from the ground. But this can be at quite a lot of different depths, says Professor Loveridge, ranging from shallow depths, where the heat is actually a relatively low temperature. around 12°C, to quite deep, where the heat can be elevated to 80°C, for example.

The types of systems that campuses are generally deploying operate from the shallower depths of the ground, as opposed to deep geothermal energy. Deep geothermal energy for electricity, where water is hot enough to produce steam to drive turbines is possible, but needs specific geological conditions for this to be applicable, and it’s unlikely to be done at only a campus scale, according to Professor Loveridge.

The various terms that cover the shallower type of geothermal system include “ground source heat pump systems”, “shallow geothermal energy” and “geoexchange” – all effectively the same, according to the academic. “We have large quantities of low-grade, or low-temperature, heat stored in the ground that we can access through geoexchange, shallow geothermal [and] ground source heat pump systems.”

So what are campuses doing?

It might seem counterintuitive, but at those smaller depths under the earth’s surface, temperatures remain fairly constant throughout the year. This means it can be cooler or warmer compared to air temperatures above ground, and this characteristic can be used to help cool and heat homes and other buildings.

Take the example of Oxford Brookes University, which back in 2022 announced the installation of a new geoexchange heating system, in what it said was a first for a UK university.

“Effectively, we take free energy from the ground,” says Gavin Hodgson, Decarbonisation Strategic Lead at the UK’s Oxford Brookes.

Hodgson explains that this is done, broadly speaking, by drilling holes deep into the ground and installing a looped system of pipes, which circulate glycol or another substance (in Oxford Brookes’ case, environmentally friendly vegetable oil), exchanging heat with the ground, and piping it back up to an energy centre on campus. The low-grade energy is fed into a heat pump, which heats or cools it to the desired temperature, ready for transfer where needed.

In some cases, geothermal systems can also act as a storage system for heat – a sort of “thermal piggy bank”. Princeton University in the United States is working on one such system, drilling thousands of geoexchange boreholes to form a closed-loop system deep under campus, which takes heat out of buildings in summer and stores this in the ground by slightly warming the rock, and then uses the same boreholes and warmed rock as a heat source for their buildings in the winter.

What are the pros and cons?

There are many positives to these geothermal systems, especially when compared with others such as the gas boiler heating system they’re replacing. Broadly speaking, their greenhouse emissions are lower, they’re much more efficient and are often cheaper to run.

At the moment, Professor Loveridge at Leeds University is helping to investigate a potential low-carbon system on her campus. They’re drilling holes in the ground, eight to be precise, to investigate its thermal and hydrogeological properties, with the aim of eventually designing a system to take some of the university’s buildings off its current steam heating network powered directly by fossil fuels, and putting them on a low-carbon solution instead.

Although upfront costs to installing these systems are higher than for traditional heating and cooling systems, geothermal systems should be cheaper to run, she says, because they have much greater energy efficiency.

A large part of this is due to the use of heat pumps. Geoexchange and shallow geothermal don’t have to operate with a heat pump, says Professor Loveridge, but they usually do, because the depths that they’re sourcing the heat from are quite shallow. “The heat might only be 12°C, which on its own is not very usable; but this is where the magic of the heat pump comes in,” she says.

A heat pump is a device that allows us to transfer energy – it doesn’t generate it, explains Professor Loveridge. You put in a small amount of electrical energy, and it increases the temperature to something that would be usable in our heating systems.

“The real beauty of these systems is because it’s energy transfer, not generation, the efficiency is really high.”

In other words, more energy comes out for every unit of electricity put in – something along the order of 3 to 4 units of energy for every 1 unit of electricity put in, far better than the probably less than 1 unit of energy with a traditional gas boiler.

In the case of Oxford Brookes’ system, Hodgson says that at its peak, they’ve seen 4.6 units of energy for every 1 unit of electricity put in.

And of course, carbon emissions are reduced. In a 2022 report on the future of heat pumps, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions “by at least 20 percent compared with a gas boiler”, even when running on emissions‐intensive electricity. This reduction can be as large as 80 percent in countries with cleaner electricity, it adds.

“Depending on the relative prices of gas and electricity, your running costs should be less,” says Professor Loveridge. “And if you run this using green electricity, your carbon emissions are really low.”

Are campuses particularly suited to using geothermal systems?
There are several aspects to universities which mean they can be well-suited to these sorts of geothermal systems, according to Mike Walters, Principal at US engineering and technical services firm Salas O’Brien. The firm helps plan and implement low/no-carbon solutions, including geothermal systems, for sites such as college and university campuses.

“Higher education campuses are unique in that they are a large group of diverse buildings that are owned by a single entity, which operates with a long-term perspective,” Walters tells QS Insights Magazine via email.

“Beyond the long-term thinking that guides much of higher education decision processes, these campuses simply have natural advantages for geoexchange,” he adds. “Many (not all!) have large footprints: available land area in the form of parking lots, recreational fields or even future building construction sites where geoexchange systems can be constructed.”

When asked whether demand had gone up in recent years, Walters says demand for geoexchange systems “steadily increased” in North America over the last 20 years, while the firm has seen activity shoot up more recently.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the desire for these systems in the last five to seven years, and an intense spike in activity since the US federal government passed significant incentives as part of the Inflation Reduction Act,” he says.

This increased demand is borne out not just in the increased number of geoexchange projects, he adds, but also in their scale. “Our average project size has gone from relatively small geoexchange systems comprised of a few dozen vertical bores, to systems that are 150 to 400 bores in number.”

Does all this make a difference? What impact do universities actually have?

Compared to other sectors, higher education isn’t really one of the top primary source carbon-emitting industries in itself. But this doesn’t mean that the sector is insignificant.

“Higher ed matters [not because of] its carbon footprint, but its educational footprint,” says Julian Dautremont, Director of Programs at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), an organisation in the United States which pushes for colleges to take the lead in sustainability issues.

“All the people who go through higher education end up being the key decision makers that drive whether we stay on an unsustainable path, or we get on a more sustainable path,” he says. “So, it has incredible impact in the knowledge, skills and values that it helps develop in its students.” And students have also shown interest in attaining such knowledge. According to QS International Student Survey 2023, over 40 percent of prospective students interested in UK universities are actively researching the institutions’ environmental sustainability strategy and efforts.

In addition, higher education institutions do have real power and influence in their research agendas. “All the renewable energy technologies that we need to figure out how to power our society, those are being developed in part by researchers at higher ed institutions,” says Dautremont. “And so that’s another mechanism through which higher ed can make an outsize contribution.”

And while its carbon footprint may be smaller than the fossil fuel or agriculture sectors, higher education is still a billion-dollar industry, and holds a lot of cultural sway, as Jack Ruane, University League Manager at UK student campaign network, People and Planet, points out.

“Here in the UK, education is one of our largest exports, you could argue – it’s a multi billion-pound industry. We have a long tradition of having universities at the centre of towns, a lot of our universities are integral and central parts of towns and cities. They’re places that numerous stakeholders interact with every day,” he tells QS Insights Magazine. “It’s because of that importance really for so many different stakeholders that I think universities are a very fertile place for behaviour change to take place.

“When universities make a stand on an issue, it can be very powerful,” he adds. “It can really make a bold statement about what the academic community is saying is right or wrong.”

Similarly, Hodgson at Oxford Brookes agrees that it is important for universities, which often have a high standing in their local communities, to be showing leadership. “If universities don’t progress with decarbonisation, then other smaller companies, all of our supply chains and so forth, won’t follow suit,” he says. “It’s very important that we show leadership on it and positive action.”

As a sector, is higher education doing enough?

It’s hard not to feel the spectre of climate change. Earlier this month, the European Union’s climate monitor announced that global mean temperatures had, for the first time, breached a key 1.5°C threshold across an entire year.

It’s also important to bear in mind the bigger picture – operations of buildings as a whole account for around 30 percent of global final energy consumption, according to the IEA, and space and water heating account for almost half of global energy use in buildings.

Meanwhile, at the launch of last year’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report by the world’s leading climate scientists, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned: “This report is a clarion call to massively fast-track climate efforts by every country, and every sector and on every timeframe.”

In the face of all this, what more should higher education as a sector be doing? Perhaps, as Dautremont says, it’s not really a question of quantity, but of timing and pace.

“It’s not so much ‘more’ as ‘quicker’, I think is the name of the game,” he says. “The scientific authorities are calling for bigger reductions than I think campuses are on track to make. So that’s to me the big picture.

“The specific strategies that institutions use to reduce their emissions are going to be pretty context-specific. But it does seem like we need to step up our game, and be faster about it.”

Read more articles like this from QS Insights Magazine, Issue 14.

Dr Sri Fatmawati Recognized as First Woman in Indonesia as 2023 Young Affiliate by UNESCO’s The World Academic of Sciences

In a significant recognition for Indonesian scientist, Dr. Sri Fatmawati from Department of Chemistry at ITS, has been honored as a Young Affiliate by UNESCO’s The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in 2023, highlighting her exceptional work in natural products research. The distinction offers promising prominent researchers from developing nations, like Dr. Fatmawati with invaluable connections and opportunities for professional development within the global scientific community.

TWAS, in collaboration with its Regional Partners, annually selects up to 25 scientists under the age of 40 from developing nations as Young Affiliates. These individuals, distinguished by a minimum of 10 international publications and a demonstrated potential for impactful careers, are granted a six-year tenure filled with opportunities for networking, collaboration, and participation in prestigious events such as the TWAS General Meeting.

Dr. Fatmawati’s selection underscores her pioneering research in natural products, spanning herbal plants from 27 provinces of Indonesia and unveiling novel insights that promise transformative impacts on traditional herbal medicine known as ‘Jamu’. As the researcher-in-charge of ITS Djamoe, a transformative production of Jamu from the Natural Products and Synthetic Chemistry Laboratory, her work notably centered on the exploration of indigenous plants for medicinal purposes, embodies a new frontier in harnessing the rich biodiversity of Indonesia for the betterment of society.

As a TWAS Young Affiliate, Dr. Fatmawati looks forward to forging collaborations with esteemed TWAS Fellows, exploring avenues for joint projects, and contributing to the advancement of natural products research on a global scale. With her participation in the annual TWAS meetings and access to a vast network of scholars and policymakers, she envisions catalyzing meaningful change in traditional healthcare development.

Satbayev University, Penn State has been strengthening the collaboration

Satbayev University and Pennsylvania State University (Penn State, USA) have signed a cooperation agreement.

The given document has launched a new stage of academic and scientific partnership between the two universities, which closely cooperate in petroleum engineering sphere. The agreement was signed by Penn State President Nili Bendapudi and Satbayev University Board Chairman-Rector Meiram Begentayev.

The deepening of cooperation between the two universities was the result of the work of RK Science and Higher Education Ministry within the framework of implementing the international agreements, as well as working trips to the USA by Science and Higher Education Minister Sayassat Nurbek, during which new agreements were reached on evolving the strategic partnership between the two countries in higher education sphere.

Based on the agreement, collaboration program between the two universities will be expanded in such areas as materials science, cybersecurity and geology. Universities are going to continue to implement double-degree education programs in the format 3+1+1 (Bachelor + Master’s), as well as the exchange of teaching staff, students, conducting the joint scientific research.

This year, the recruitment of entrants, undergraduates, as well as 3rd year students who want to study at Penn State from September 2024 will begin.

Satbayev University delegation worked out all the details of future degree programs with the leadership of Penn State, departments’ representatives: Material Sciences and Geology, and also met with the representative of Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, Dr. Guido Cervone.

It should be noted that Pennsylvania State University is a public research university in the United States, located in State College city, Pennsylvania. It is one of the top 15 public universities in the USA, with almost 90 thousand students that makes it one of the largest in the USA and the world.

Public Toilets in Singapore as Dirty as in 2020: Survey

Singapore may be one of the cleanest cities in the world, but the opposite applies to public toilets in her coffeeshops and hawker centres. The third national survey in seven years, and the first post-pandemic, the whimsically-named “Waterloo” was created and run by SMU Principal Lecturer of Statistics Rosie Ching and her 170 SMU undergraduates. Together, they carried out comprehensive on-site surveys of more than 2,200 public toilets at an excess of 100 hawker centres and 950 coffeeshops around Singapore, evaluating them on more than 100 variables including toilet bowl cleanliness, floor dryness, ventilation.

They found that post-pandemic coffeeshop toilets have stayed dirty and unchanged over the past seven years, staying significantly below the 50-mark of reasonably clean on the zero-to-100 Toilet Cleanliness Index (TCI), with the only bright spot showing hawker centre toilets cleaner than in 2020. Unisex toilets are the dirtiest at 36.14, a sharp decline from 42.89 in 2020. From 2016 to 2020 till now, these shared toilets remain the filthiest, suffering their lowest levels now, with a large majority located in coffeeshops.

Public perception of these toilets was measured using the Human Perception of Toilet Cleanliness (HPTCI) Index, where respondents rated their perception of public toilets on a scale of zero to 100: 100 being the most positive perception of toilet cleanliness, and zero the most negative.

Overall public perception of these toilets is that they are much dirtier than they should be, and no different from they were in 2020 and 2016. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, 66.74% of Singaporeans think that public toilets in coffeeshops and hawker centres have “stayed just as dirty” to “are much dirtier now”, with only 22.18% saying they have improved. Additionally, 63% of citizens rate toilet-cleaning efforts from “mostly ineffective” to “completely ineffective”, with only 6% optimistic about the efficacy of national clean toilet campaigns.

Droves of photographic evidence show wet or oily floors, dirty or clogged sinks, overflowing bins and choked urinals. The in-depth investigation by Ms Ching revealed that the closer cooking facilities are to toilets in these hawker centres and coffee shops, the significantly dirtier the toilets. This was also observed in 2016 and 2020 and remains very strong in 2023, a major public health concern given the huge majority of workers in these premises use these toilets while handling food.
More than nine in ten of customers declared public toilets in need of major overhauling, rating them as “dirty”. More than 75% only use the toilets in these areas for small calls of nature, unchanged from 2020, but a much lower figure than in 2016. As for the big call of nature, almost 70% avoid using these toilets, a significantly higher avoidance rate than in 2020 and 2016.

Waterloo was done to educate students on applying statistics with social impact, helping the World Toilet Organisation (WTO), Public Hygiene Council (PHC), Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) and Restroom Association Singapore (RAS) in their national efforts to combat the decades-long problem of dirty toilets. Said student Nicole Beh, “I have had the privilege of being a student in Ms Rosie Ching’s Statistics class. We embarked on Waterloo, surveying over 90% of Singapore’s hawker centers and coffee shop toilets to raise awareness about public toilet hygiene. While we continue to make waves in improving the cleanliness of public toilets in Singapore, we hope for even greater improvements in the years to come through nationwide efforts. Ms. Ching has been our strongest pillar of support in achieving the impeccable success of Waterloo and has made learning Statistics more fun than ever.”

Said Ms Ching: “Having a clean toilet to use is a fundamental human right. Yet my treasured Waterloo student comrades and I have exposed yet again thousands of abysmal toilets, many in close proximity with kitchens and food-handling areas. We hope our findings will spur decisive and collective action to improve the state of public toilet hygiene, and protect food handlers and toilet cleaners who face the daily grim spectre of filthy toilets.”

For their commitment to Waterloo, Ms. Ching’s students won Singapore’s national LOO (Let’s Observe Ourselves) Award for public sanitation in the community category. Ms Ching was given the Individual LOO Award for eight years of study of dirty public toilets, and was bestowed the World Toilet Organization Hall of Fame Award for her contributions to improving sanitation. In December 2023, Ms Ching was also awarded QS Reimagine Education’s global Gold Award for Blended and Presence Learning for the effects of creating and teaching Statistics For Social Impact.

Capitalizing on Potential: Catfish Farming Empowerment by University of North Sumatra

Empowering teenage groups to improve the local economy has become a focus for lecturers at the University of North Sumatra. Led by Dra. Lina Sudarwati, M.Si., a group of lecturers organized a catfish farming training session on unused land.

The participants, teenagers from mosques in Kisaran City, North Sumatra, were introduced to practical knowledge about pond preparation, catfish breeding, and the distribution of catfish seeds into the grow-out ponds. This initiative aims to utilize abandoned excavation ponds, previously used for brick-making but now neglected, for sustainable programs to enhance the local economy.

The program provided by Universitas Sumatera Utara specifically from the Faculty of Social and Political Science includes training in catfish farming and offers equipment and initial catfish seeds as the starting capital for participants. Around 8000 catfish seeds were distributed, spread across four designated ponds. Additionally, alongside the catfish farming program, the mosque teenagers were introduced to marketplace applications for marketing their agricultural products online.

The implementation of the catfish farming empowerment activity has been warmly welcomed by residents in the area. Paidi, a community figure, expressed his support, stating, “This program is very beneficial for our mosque teenagers. So far, they have often struggled to find jobs or business opportunities. With this catfish farming, we hope they can have their source of income and contribute more to the community”.

Dra. Lina Sudarwati, M.Si., emphasized that implementing catfish farming empowerment will benefit the local community and raise awareness about the importance of sustainability in catfish farming to support environmental conservation efforts. This initiative not only provides economic opportunities for teenagers but also contributes to the overall well-being and environmental consciousness of the region.

#UniversitasSumateraUtara #FISIPUSU #FakultasIlmuSosialdanPolitik #USU

Higher education experts: Universities will not disappear, but will have to change

A third-year student Zoe, rushing from the university to work, dreams about the possibility of watching lectures as if they were an internet TV show – whenever and wherever she wants. John, who has been wanting to change his job for a couple of years now, is checking university curricula – while he has a lot of skills and knowledge, but no degree certificate to prove it. Camilla, who wants to improve her public speaking skills, compares the cost of online courses at Cambridge and Harvard.

Although the people described above are fictional, the situations they experience can be real. A Eurostudent survey in 25 European countries revealed that more than half of students work while studying. A 2021 World Economic Forum report claims that by 2025, almost half of the world’s workforce will need to retrain or acquire new competencies.

In the past, university was one of the stops on the way to a career. Today, the function of higher education institutions is changing, adapting to the needs of learners. Lifelong learning, retraining, and flexible learning pathways open up new opportunities for all stakeholders.

“Flexibility means, first and foremost, that the learner has the opportunity to develop exactly those competencies they need at that time, and that they can do this at the convenient time, place and pace. This includes many things, but also the possibility to integrate the learning process into one’s lifestyle,” says Kristina Ukvalbergienė, Vice-Rector for Studies at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).

Today, learning transcends the countries’ boundaries and the supply of high-quality content is driving the need for universities to strengthen collaborations, form alliances and offer international and interdisciplinary learning experiences.

Flexible studies – only on-demand and online?

According to Professor Euan Lindsay of Aalborg University in Denmark, today’s studies need to be designed to fit in with learners’ lifestyles. Nowadays, students can find any content (films, podcasts, videos) on-demand and online as soon as they need it. Naturally, they want to access study material when it is convenient for them, but not necessarily at the same time as a scheduled lecture. According to the expert, this change is inevitable and higher education institutions will have to adapt.

“A hundred years ago, the horse was the main means of transport. Although you can buy a horse and travel on it, it is far from the norm today. Once we see the advantages of making learning material available on demand and online, the higher education system will simply adapt,” says Lindsay, professor at the Aalborg University Centre for Problem-Based Learning in Engineering Science and Sustainability.

He says that while it used to be the norm that lectures at the university were only live, this perception is changing. Part of the change has been triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, which has opened the way to various forms of distance learning. Today, lectures can not only be remote, but also recorded, and can be listened to on the move, pausing and replaying important moments. In addition, there is a wide range of material available on a given topic.

“We establish relationships in person, but we can maintain them online. Online seminar is not a good approach for role modelling professional practice. However, if the purpose of the lecture is to introduce a new theory or concept, the students can go through the material at their own speed and time. A live meeting can be used to discuss points that were unclear or to carry out practical exercises to apply the theory,” says Lindsay.

The internet is already full of material on a wide range of topics, presented by talented speakers. Problem-based learning expert Lindsay believes that the presentations of theoretical material may eventually be taken over by major textbook publishers. Universities will continue to be the forge of competencies, but they will have to become more flexible and adapt to change.

When we look at cathedrals, we don’t think of bricks

According to Ukvalbergienė, the Vice-Rector for Studies at KTU, a flexible learning pathway is a learner-centred learning model that allows each individual to choose a personalised learning process, regardless of the competencies previously acquired. At each stage of learning, different learning choices are offered to the learner, according to their needs, interests and competencies required. Learning takes place in small chunks, constructing a flexible learning pathway from challenges and micro-modules.

Although KTU students can already choose to include additional competencies in their individual learning plan, by 2025, KTU plans to offer its students the option of flexible learning pathways.

“It is up to the student to choose the competencies they want to develop, and to chart their own learning path. Competences can be developed horizontally, that is, broadly, or vertically, by delving into a specific area. In the case of KTU, flexible learning pathways are also closely linked to a challenge-based methodology, where students, lecturers and external partners work together to solve real-world challenges,” says Ukvalbergienė.

Lindsay, who gave a presentation at the Study Quality Day, an annual event organised by KTU, says that one of the changes that universities need to introduce to adapt to the modern market is the unbundling of study programmes. That is, the study programmes should be designed with the outcome in mind – what do we want our graduates to be able to do after they graduate?

“When we look at cathedrals, we don’t think about the individual bricks that were used to build them. So, if we want our students to learn how to build cathedrals, we need to think about the competencies they need. How we teach them thermodynamics or mathematics, how we test their knowledge – these are just details,” says Lindsay.

What is the added value of university studies?

Today’s learners come from different walks of life. Among them are those who have previous work experience, those returning to higher education after a break from studies, and those pursuing new career goals that require further education.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future Jobs Report, 44% of workers will need to update their skills portfolio by 2027 as technology is evolving at an extremely fast pace. However, cognitive and personal skills such as analytical, creative, systemic thinking, curiosity, resilience and agility are among those that will be particularly in demand.

According to the KTU Vice-Rector for Studies Ukvalbergienė, the university offers a comprehensive environment for intensive learning and, in addition to the skills required for the specialisation, the ability to work in interdisciplinary, international teams, collaborate, think strategically, manage time, and other skills are being developed. The University is a place where information is concentrated and easily accessible, where experimentation in various laboratories is possible, and where knowledge is conveyed by teachers who have the experience and skills to develop the competencies of the learners.

However, from her point of view, the university is not the only actor in the education system. Some retraining programmes require high speed or very narrow specialisation and this niche can be filled by other organisations.

“A university is part of an ecosystem. Working together with the city, the region, and business, we share a common goal – to educate responsible and value-added members of society. All these aspects add value to university education,” says Ukvalbergienė.

The future university is akin to a travel agency

The need for a qualification or a degree can arise at any stage of your career. For example, qualifications may be needed to apply for a promotion or a licence, and there is evidence suggesting that higher education is associated with higher income. However, people who are already working have knowledge and skills and may feel that they have a good understanding of some subjects in their studies despite lacking a degree certificate which proves that.

“I remember one student who took long drives to get to campus to do compulsory laboratory classes on a piece of surveying equipment. He was really surly and when I asked what’s the problem, he said repairing this equipment was his day job,” says Lindsay.

He believes that universities need flexibility in similar situations. Lindsay jokingly compares universities of the future to travel agencies: if you want to travel, you can book your own plane tickets, hotel and leisure programme. But you can also ask a travel agent to do the same – they can take care of the whole trip or just certain aspects of it as required.

“Universities that are better suited to the current situation are those that say: if you start your studies already knowing half of it, we won’t teach you that. Instead, we’ll certify it and teach you the rest,” says Lindsay.

Ukvalbergienė, KTU Vice-Rector for Studies, says that KTU has been certifying the competencies acquired informally or spontaneously for more than ten years.

“For example, if you think you have a certain competence, say in project management, the university can test your skills and formally recognise it. Formally recognised competencies can be certified as outcomes of a university study programme or a module, which do not require retaking,” explains Ukvalbergienė.

Today’s graduates will remain in the job market for the next 50 years

Lifelong learning is gaining momentum, not only because it is being promoted by various national and international programmes, but also because society is demanding it. The world is changing, people are living longer, technology is advancing faster and the need to update knowledge is becoming essential.

“Today’s university graduates may live up to 90 or 100; it is likely that they will be working by the time they reach 70. Do you think they won’t need to update their knowledge in the next 50 years? I certainly wouldn’t want to base my current practice on what I would have learnt in the 1970s,” says Lindsay.

Lindsay and Ukvalbergienė, who have been teaching for about 20 years, agree that students today care about the purpose of what they’re learning much more than before.

“I used to think that current students were interested in changing the world, but I changed my mind on that. I think they are more interested in changing the world around them. This is a very different kind of leadership: not the noisy setting of grandiose goals, but the pursuit of individual change for the city, for the community,” says Lindsay.

According to Ukvalbergienė, current students are much more socially responsible and want to see the real value in what they study. Challenge-based learning, cooperation with social partners and exposure to the real working environment play a key role in this.

While qualities such as curiosity, creative thinking and problem-solving may be common across generations, there is one skill in which today’s students may be outperforming their teachers: they are much more tech-savvy.

“Already some years ago, the world passed a tipping point where younger people were outpacing older people in technological skills. This turns the whole logic of learning on its head and universities have to adapt to it,” says Ukvalbergienė.

However, experts agree that the democratisation of the learning process – where the lecturer is no longer the only person who knows best – is essential to meet the needs of today’s learners. Students are themselves very diverse, and from the university they expect flexibility in adapting to their individual lifestyles.

Scientists Achieve First Total Synthesis of Potentially Anti-Rheumatic Sesquiterpene Merillianin

Merrillianin is a naturally occurring compound found in Chinese herbal medicine. In a significant milestone for drug development, researchers have succeeded in its artificial synthesis, with the potential for helping treat nervous system diseases. The compound, previously tricky to synthesize due to its complex chemical structure, was successfully produced using 30 reactions. This breakthrough paves the way for the commercial development of drugs targeting diseases such as rheumatism and neuralgia.

An avenue that scientists are currently exploring for the development of novel pharmaceuticals involves the synthesis of bioactive compounds found in Chinese herbal medicine. This collaborative effort, combining traditional knowledge with modern scientific methods, focuses on pharmaceutically relevant compounds found in medicinal plants for large-scale synthesis. An important compound in this context is merrillianin, a type of illicium sesquiterpene that was isolated in 2002 from the fruit of Illicium merrillianum, a plant that belongs to the same genus as star anise. Illicium sesquiterpenes are naturally occurring compounds which hold promise for treating nervous system diseases. However, merrillianin has a complex structure with a central arrangement of six consecutive stereogenic carbon centers, including three quaternary carbon stereogenic centers, and three rings fused to two carbons. This complexity has posed challenges for the artificial synthesis of merrillianin, leading to limited progress in its practical application since its isolation.

In a breakthrough study published in the journal Organic Letters on 31 December 2023, a research group led by Assistant Professor Takatsugu Murata and Professor Isamu Shiina from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) succeeded in synthesizing merrillianin, opening doors to its artificial synthesis almost 20 years after the compound was isolated.

“Illicium sesquiterpenes are a group of compounds that are expected to be effective against neurological diseases, but their highly oxidized and ring-fused structures have made it difficult to synthesize them artificially. However, we have synthetic technique and knowledge about the synthesis of highly complicated compounds such as taxol,” says Dr. Murata. “Therefore, we wanted to perform the world’s first artificial synthesis of merrillianin, which is expected to have anti-rheumatic activity, and create a lead compound that can contribute to the treatment of neurological diseases.”

Merrillianin can be obtained with yields as high as 80% via the Wacker-type oxidation of a dilatone. However, the challenge lies in efficiently preparing the precursor compounds for the dilatone. To address this, the researchers employed a total of 30 reaction steps, covering the synthesis of precursors to the final production of merrillianin. The process commences with the Mukaiyama aldol reaction, which involves enol silyl ether and acetaldehyde. This reaction leads to the creation of a dithioacetal, a compound that includes a quaternary carbon stereogenic center. Subsequently, the dithioacetal undergoes a series of reactions with an iodo compound, resulting in the formation of α, β-unsaturated ester possessing an aldol structure. The next steps involve a reductive intramolecular cyclization of this compound to cyclopentane, followed by an intramolecular Michael’s reaction for the formation of tricyclic dilactone with a total yield of 1.6%. Tricyclic dilactone is a key intermediate for the commercial production of a wide variety of Illicium sesquiterpene compounds, including merrillianin.

The researchers point out that if merrillianin has high bioactivity, the amount required for treatment would be very little. (According to the isolation report, 3 mg of merrillianin was isolated from 30 kg of fruit.) Interestingly, it would be possible to examine its bioactivity using the synthetic version prepared by the group.

The synthesis method also revealed the absolute configuration of merrillianin, which, so far, had only known relative configurations. The proposed synthesis method for merrillianin represents another milestone for the research group, which previously succeeded in synthesizing the naturally occurring tanzawaic acid B found in the fungus Penicillium citrinum that has the potential for developing antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

The research group’s ongoing dedication to synthesizing compounds with interesting biological activities holds promise for future discoveries in the field of drug development. Species of the Illicium genus have been used as medicinal herbs for the treatment of conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and traumatic injuries, and the synthesis of merrillianin could also contribute to advancements in these areas. “The proposed synthesis method for merrillianin will help develop suitable drugs to treat nervous system diseases such as rheumatism, and neuralgia, improving neurological disease prognosis and enhancing patient quality of life,” concludes Prof. Shiina.